Hi 5 House

Format

Hi-5 House is a variety-style series for pre-schoolers which incorporates educational trends with a pop music appeal. The premise remains similar to its predecessor series Hi-5, employing central themes of exploration and discovery of the world. The show's five cast members are collectively known as Hi-5, and present individual segments as well as performing songs as a group. The set of Hi-5 House is designed as a house, and presented as a place where the cast all live together and present the show, while being an environment which children can relate to. Each presenter’s segment is adapted to take place in a room of the house, to replicate a child’s immediate learning surroundings.

Each episode features each cast member present their own individual segment, which is modelled towards a particular learning style based on Howard Gardner's Theory of multiple intelligences, which recognises that each child learns in a different way. Puzzles and Patterns (set in the kitchen) has a focus on logical thinking and mathematics, with a puppet named Jup Jup used as a tool for the presenter to complete puzzles or solve problems. Musicality is explored through the Making Music segment (set in the music room), with an emphasis on pitch, rhythm, beat, melody, and using a variety of real and pretend instruments. The presenter of Body Move (set in the backyard) encourages children to participate in movement and dance, developing physical coordination and motor development. Linguistics and aural skills are at the centre of the Word Play segment (set in the bedroom), featuring a puppet named Chatterbox who assists in the discovery of language through stories and rhymes. Shapes in Space (set in the rumpus room) focuses on visual and spatial awareness, with the presenter exploring shapes, colour and everyday materials such as boxes and playdough.

The final segment in which the cast comes together is entitled Sharing Stories, where a story is told to explore interpersonal relationships and emotions. The episodes are bookended with a Song of the Week; a pop-style feature song which corresponds with the weekly theme and sets an educational topic for the week's episodes. An additional new segment, The Chatterbox, focuses on learning of the English language through simple words and phrases, featuring the puppet of the same name teaching a toy robot named Tinka how to speak.

Cast

Production

The original Hi-5 premiered on the Nine Network in 1999, created by television producer Helena Harris and co-producer Posie Graeme-Evans, who developed the preschool entertainment series. The program was a success, running for thirteen series, and receiving a total of three Logie Television Awards, two for Most Outstanding Children's Program in 2000 and 2001 and one for Most Outstanding Children's Preschool Program in 2004. The series concluded its run on the Nine Network in 2011 as a result of the Hi-5 brand being acquired by Asian equity group Asiasons in 2012, following Nine's ongoing financial difficulties. In June 2013, executive producer Julie Greene announced that the franchise would be producing a revamped series, a spin-off to be titled Hi-5 House. Greene explained that the new series would be set in a house, stating that it would depict “a group of friends living together under one space and having some fun, close-by and all under one roof.” She described the change as a “new energy” for the television show.

The first series of Hi-5 House was filmed at Infinite Studios in Singapore from August to October 2013, and premiered on pay-TV channel Nick Jr. in Australia on 4 November 2013. Greene described the production of the series as “building a show from scratch”.

The second series was filmed at KRU Studios in Malaysia from April to June 2014 and premiered on 6 October on Nick Jr, celebrating fifteen years of Hi-5 on Australian television. The series won an Asian Television Award for Best Preschool Program in 2015.

The third series was filmed in Malaysia from March to May 2015. This series premiered exclusively on 25 March 2016 on online television streaming service Netflix in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Latin America. It later aired on Nick Jr. from 26 September onwards.

Hi-5 House ended production in 2016 as a result of the Nine Network renewing its partnership in with the Hi-5 franchise in October with plans to revive the original Hi-5 television series with a new cast in 2017.

Series 3 (2016)

Note: Series 3 credits 2015 as its production year.

Reception

Hi-5 House was consistently the highest rating program on Disney Junior Asia from its premiere in 2013 to 2016, alongside the original Hi-5 series.

In 2014, Jo Abi of blog Mamamia commended the diversity of the Hi-5 House cast. Reviewing the DVD compilation Happy Holidays in 2015, a reviewer at This Charming Mum praised the show’s costuming and set design, as well as the "specific messages around healthy living [and] environmental awareness" depicted. The blog At Grandma’s Place commended the series’ educational segments, describing them as "bright, colourful and short enough to hold the attention of even the younger kids."

Broadcast

Hi-5 House made its international debut on Disney Junior Asia on 9 December 2013. The first series premiered on Australian free-to-air channel Eleven on 24 February 2014 after previously airing exclusively on pay TV. The series aired in New Zealand on free-to-air channel Four in July 2014. The second series debuted on Disney Junior Asia on 8 December 2014.